Panama Finca Lerida Geisha Washed

We have offered coffee from Finca Lerida in the past, and have always been impressed by the attention to detail in their processing methods. We were able to secure several lots from the farm this year when we attended the Best of Panama Competition, where Finca Lerida had three coffee lots win.

Finca Lerida is a farm with a rich and unique history. Its founder, Tollef B. Monniche, came to Panama from Norway in 1907 to work as an engineer on the Panama Canal. Tollef retired in 1924, and bought a small farm in Boquete, Panama with his wife - the property was called "Lerida" after the city in Spain. He built a house and on the property, and went to work planting coffee trees as well as fruits and vegetables. He built a dam on the farm, to provide water to the coffee processing plant there, and also developed and patented a device, called the "Sifon" to separate ripe cherries from unripe ones. This device is still in use today, not only at Finca Lerida, but also on coffee farms worldwide.

Today, Finca Lerida is run by the Chiari family, who coordinate coffee growing with surrounding rainforest preservation. It also houses a eco-tourism hotel, where patrons can take tours of the farm land and enjoy the ambiance of the rainforest. The farm sits at an altitude of 5250-6020 feet above sea level, and grows Caturra, Catuai and Geisha varietals, which are processed several ways.

This lot is 100% geisha, an heirloom varietal from Ethiopia that produces a blue-green elongated coffee bean that is especially aromatic and floral. Price Peterson, who owns Hacienda Esmeralda in Panama, experimented by planting it some years ago along with a broader group of varietals. The result was the rediscovery of a great cultivar with extreme fruitiness and floral scents and flavors, but with balance and finesse not seen in other coffees. Coffee farmers in other countries soon followed suit, and the varietal regularly takes home awards in Cup of Excellence competitions held throughout the world. It is fully washed, meaning the outer skin and pulp (fruit surrounding the coffee husk) are totally removed during milling before being sun dried on patios.

• Coffee variety: Geisha
• Processing: Washed
• Farm: Finca Lerida
• Location: Alto Quiel
• Province: Chiriqui
• District: Boquete
• Township: Los Naranjos
• Altitude: 5250-6020 feet above sea level